Nike’s Marketing Never Fails
Nike has transformed their brand thanks to strategic marketing
Since the rise in the consumer market, marketing teams have come up with almost anything to get their shoes, food, cars and any other apparel to sell. Some companies such as Wheaties, a known cereal, would use famous athletes on their boxes to draw the attention of kids and fans around the world. The Dairy Company once used Shaquille O’Neal as their spokesperson and consequently saw a legitimate increase in profits over the span of a week.
From food to clothes to any other company, the marketing industry has one hidden rule that is a surefire way to earn money: use celebrities to sell goods. Almost every famous athlete has been featured in a commercial to sell products to the consumers. Athletes were chosen to represent the company typically fit certain criteria. Generally speaking, those athletes must have a nice smile/face, appeal to the crowd and must have a squeaky clean image. Without these three keys, athletes would not receive any endorsements from these companies. Companies such as Wheaties, Gatorade, GMC, and others thrive off of these three keys. Controversy and mishaps weren’t tolerated with athletes from these companies who were giving them an endorsement. Athletes with a horrible past were deemed “ unmarketable ‘’ until Nike came along.
Nike was created in 1964 and initially sold only track shoes. though their stock prices were decent for the first decade or so as a new company, marketers decided on a different approach. In 1993, Charles Barkley, a former all-star and now hall of fame NBA player, was chosen to do a commercial for his upcoming shoe with Nike. Despite the common outlook on the viewers of being the nice guy, Chuck was recorded saying “ I am not a role model,’’ which not only took the nation by surprise and but also negatively impacted Nike’s stock. Within the first week, Nike’s stock dropped 20 cents but shortly after that, it had risen 20 cents higher than before. Bulls’ legend Michael Jordan and movie director Spike Lee’s collaboration “ It Gotta be the Shoes,’’ on Michael’s first released sneakers spiked Nike’s stock by two dollars.
Lets fast forward to 2003. Kobe Bryant is the big thing in the NBA and is on track to being an all-time great. Suddenly on his way to knee surgery, he is accused of rape. Despite the drama surrounded by this and major companies such as Gatorade bailed on Kobe. Nike insisted on making an ad during the height of the controversy on behalf of Kobe. Almost instantly Nike stock was driven up by one point.
Lets fast forward againto 2009. Tiger Woods is the world’s best golfer and recently pronounced best male athlete. He was adored by fans and immolated by athletes. Suddenly the scandal of him cheating on his wife was released to the press, and now Tiger, while still popular, has lost his fair share of supporters. You know what Nike did during that time? Made a commercial featuring Tiger. Guess what happened next? Their golf market increased. Is it a coincidence?
The game of marketing Nike is using is similar to TMZ but with a different message. Unlike TMZ who releases bad news in hopes to attract fans, Nike releases bad news with a positive twist to attract revenue in their product. These two cases presented are a collection of the trials Nike has done since the birth of Nike itself. The branding that Nike gives athletes is unique because it gives a slight, in-depth reality of what these athletes are going through at that time. In return for letting their voice be heard, Nike makes a significant profit. Nike has ‘pimped’ athletes such as Kobe, Kaepernick, Tiger, Griffen, Barkley and many more to attract attention from fans and create revenue. Is this a bad thing or not? Either way, Nike is living by their slogan and getting filthy rich behind it.
Kendrick Ray is a senior at Morehouse College and a member of the Morehouse football team
